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U.S. Postal Service to dedicate distinguished Marines stamps

November 3, 2005
U.S. Postal Service to dedicate distinguished Marines stamps

The First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony for the Distinguished Marines commemorative 37-cent U.S. Postage stamps will occur on the 230th Birthday of the United States Marine Corps, 10 November, 2005. The stamps immortalize four heroic legendary Marines: John Basilone, Daniel "Dan" Joseph Daly, John A. Lejeune and Lewis "Chesty" Puller.

Gunnery Sergeant
John Basilone

Basilone was awarded the Medal of Honor during World War II for holding 3,000 Japanese soldiers at bay for 72 hours at Guadalcanal with only 15 men, 12 of whom died. Following this act of heroism, he was sent to the states to promote War Bonds. He later requested return to his unit to, "be with my boys." Basilone was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross and Purple Heart for destroying a Japanese gun emplacement at Iwo Jima. He was killed there during a shelling attack.

Sergeant Major
Daniel "Dan" Joseph Daly

Daly received the Medal of Honor twice. His first was in 1900, during the Boxer Rebellion, an anti-foreign government uprising in China. While enroute to Peking with other Marines, Daly single-handedly defended a position against Chinese snipers until reinforcements arrived. In 1915, he received his second when Marines were deployed to Haiti to protect

American lives in the wake of an anti-government uprising. During a night reconnaissance mission 400 Haitian bandits fired on Daly and 39 other Marines from three sides. The detachment found better position and fought them off throughout the night. At daybreak, the three squads of Marines advanced and surprised the enemy, scattering them in all directions.

Lieutenant General
John A. Lejeune

Best remembered as a wartime commander after being the first Marine General to command an Army division in combat during World War I, Lejeune is credited with saving the Marine Corps from budget cuts and consolidations following the war and establishing Marine Corps institutions and traditions. The North Carolina Marine base bears his name.

Lieutenant General
Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller

Nicknamed for his barrel chest, Chesty Puller was one of the most famous Marines commanders of World War II and Korea. He is the only Leatherneck to win the Navy Cross five times for heroism and gallantry in action. He also received 14 personal decorations in combat, five Navy Crosses, one Army Distinguished Service Cross plus a long list of campaign medals,

unit citation ribbons and other awards. True to himself and the Corps, Chesty never was one to mince words. "We're surrounded," he said in battle. "That simplifies the problem."

A postal salute to four distinguished Marines
By Richard Carr
Stamp Columnist
Posted November 6 2005

Four "Distinguished Marines" appear on a block of commemoratives to be dedicated Thursday during ceremonies in Washington, D.C., and Oceanside, Calif.

The U.S. Postal Service said the horizontal 37-cent stamps -- of which 60 million were being printed -- will be available nationwide that same day, the 230th anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps.

The self-adhesive stamps will be sold in panes of 20.

The Marines honored are:

Gunnery Sgt. John Basilone, also known as "Manila John," fought on Guadalcanal with the 1st Marine Division in 1942 and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. The stamp features a 1943 photograph of him and the insignia of the 5th Marine Division. Basilone served and died with the 1st Battalion, 27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division, during the February 1945 invasion of Iwo Jima.

Sgt. Maj. Daniel J. Daly is one of only two Marines ever to receive the nation's highest military award -- the Medal of Honor -- twice for separate acts of valor. The stamp features a detail from a photograph taken of him about 1919 and the insignia of the 73rd Machine Gun Company, a variation on the Army's 2nd Infantry Division insignia.

Lt. Gen. John A. Lejeune, the first Marine to command an Army division. He later became Marine Corps commandant. The stamp image is from a 1924 photo. The insignia is of the Army's 2nd Infantry Division, which Lejeune commanded during World War I.

Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, known affectionately by all of his Marines as "Chesty," was a battalion commander and regimental commander with the 1st Marine Division during World War II and the Korean War. The stamp features a photo of him at Koto-ri, Korea, in 1950, and the insignia of the 1st Division.